Torture
by Slayergirl
Summary: Beginning during Club Dead, when Sookie comes round to find herself in bed with Eric at Russell's mansion. She asks him a question, but doesn't get quite the answer she expected.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Whether or not Eric would have tortured Sookie for information, as he threatened, is a moot point. Was he just trying to scare her, by using an empty threat he had no intention of carrying out? Possibly. Would he have tortured her, with regret? Possibly - he's a vampire, after all, so who knows. In response to that question, here's an answer - a middle way that I like best of all.**

**As ever, I own nothing.**

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I was surprised at how comfortable and safe I felt in Eric's arms. I remembered how I'd told him that I asked him to go with me to the orgy because I felt safe with him; I remember him telling me that was crazy. Lying in his arms, I wasn't so sure.

On the other hand… "Would you really have tortured me?"

He was silent for a moment. "There are ways and ways of torturing people," he said.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I wasn't thinking of using pincers and blades and shackles, if that's what you mean," he said. "Mediaeval and barbaric. It lacks finesse."

I was pretty sure it was weird to feel safe in the arms of someone who talked about torturing with finesse as though it was something you might learn at finishing school. "I'm not sure that answers my question, either."

His fingers traced lightly over the bare skin of my back – I was only in my underwear. And I definitely shouldn't have felt as relaxed as I was right then, that being the case. "Do you ever think of me? When you're with Bill, for example."

I shrugged a shoulder awkwardly; it wasn't easy, lying down. "You come up in conversation from time to time." I wasn't sure where he was going with that, or what it had to do with my question.

"No doubt. But that wasn't what I meant. Do you ever think of me when you should be thinking of Bill?" His fingers were stroking gently over my sides, one hand lingering close to where I was staked, then it moved on to another area without touching it. I felt myself relax slightly.

"Where are you going with this?" I asked.

He bent his head close to mine, and murmured in my ear, "Answer the question, Sookie."

"My thoughts are my own business," I said, with an attempt at dignity. It was hard to pull off with a very skilled vampire stroking and caressing me and being quite that close. I shivered, but stayed put. I didn't try to stop him, either.

He didn't move away. "Do you think of me when you're in bed with him?" he went on, his voice still soft, barely above a whisper. One thumb started circling a nipple lazily through the lace of my bra. I tried to haul back my self-control. I didn't have much success.

"Why would I do that?" I replied. My voice sounded unsure, rather than challenging. This wasn't good.

He chuckled. "Answer the question." He slipped his hand under the material and cupped my breast, thumb still circling. I bit back a moan. "Have you thought of me whilst having sex with Bill?"

His thumb gave a light flick, and I gasped. "Yes."

"Yes, you have, or yes, you like that?" he asked calmly.

I tried not to answer, really I did. "Both."

His thumb flicked a couple more times, then stilled. "Tell me what you were thinking. Did you wish you were with me, not him?"

I glared at him. "What?"

"The answer, Sookie."

I wasn't happy with the stillness of his hands. Then his fingers gave a sudden, unexpected tweak of my nipple, and my hips arched off the bed. "Yes!"

"Yes…?"

"Yes, I wished it was you," I gasped.

His hand stroked down my front, and under my underwear. "Do you fantasise about being with me?"

I tried to manoeuvre myself better, but he wouldn't let me move. "Yes," I whispered, blushing painfully.

"Tell me your fantasies."

_What?_ "Just like that? No," I scoffed.

He crooked his finger against me, and I moaned. "Tell me."

I tried again, in vain, to rub against him, but he still prevented me. "T-the night of the orgy," I squeaked out.

"What about it?" his finger moved almost soothingly – except it did anything but soothe me.

"That Bill – didn't interrupt," I gasped out.

"And?" his knuckle pressed against my entrance, and I whimpered with need. "What did we do?"

"You… undressed me."

"Quickly? Slowly?"

"More like ripped my clothes off," I answered breathily. His knuckle pressed a little harder.

"Then what?" The pressure eased off, and I whimpered again at the loss of sensation.

Things started getting a little hazy round the edges. "Y-you kissed me. Pretty much all over." I gave a sigh of pleasure as the pressure returned.

"Anywhere in particular?"

I shifted, trying to follow his hand as he moved it away. "Down my neck, my breasts, across my stomach… right, um… there."

"Where?"

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Right where your hand is now," I said with a dry, needy sob.

"Here?" he asked, fingers unfurling over me.

"Yes, yes, right there!"

"And then?"

His fingers continued their playing. "Then you laid me back against the bonnet of your car… it was still warm…" I found myself rocking unconsciously in time with the movements of his hands. "You… took me…. There on the bonnet of your car… over and over…" I almost shrieked as his finger finally slid inside me. "Yes!"

"Anything else?" His finger slowed to an agonising speed, and I moaned in discontent.

"You bit me, and we both came," I admitted finally.

Then his finger was plunging in and out of me, a second soon joining it, and I clutched at his arms for steadiness. Knowing I had to be quiet, I bit his shoulder to stop myself from crying out, and nearly gagged as I tasted his blood; I hadn't realised I'd bitten so hard.

Judging by his reaction, though, he didn't mind.

I blinked fuzzily at him as he pulled back, and very deliberately – whilst maintaining eye contact – licked his fingers clean. "Does that answer your question?" he asked, his voice slightly strained.

"Question? I had a question?" I responded. At that moment, I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was.

He chuckled, and bent forward, kissing me thoroughly. "_Gods_, the taste of us," he groaned.

I wondered why I felt more aroused than perturbed at the mingled flavours of his blood and my juices. I certainly wasn't thinking straight. But then, being around Eric always did seem to send my rational brain slightly off-kilter.

He slid off the bed. "I must go and run your errands for you," he said, as if nothing had just happened. He brushed his lips to mine gently once again. He paused, just before leaving the room. "What will be most telling, of course, is what happens next time I question you – whether you answer me straight away, or wait to be… persuaded." And with that, he was gone.

I remembered my first question, and all his subsequent questions and my answers to them, and fell limply back against the pillow with a groan.

I was in so much trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I _had_ intended it to be a one-shot, but I can see that a second chapter would have its merits, and the plot-bunny obliged. Also, I intended this chapter to go differently, but Eric was very firm about the way it went, and... well. I couldn't refuse. Will there be any more? Hmm, I don't know. PM me if you have any ideas for things Eric could be questioning Sookie about, and I'll see if the plot-bunny comes up trumps.**

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I'd healed remarkably quickly from the Were attack, I guess down to the quantity of Eric's blood I still had in my system (unless he'd slipped me some more somehow – I wouldn't put it past him). Just three days after I'd rescinded his invitation (and Bill's, the lying, cheating scumbag), he rocked up at my front door, gazing down at me, with his eyebrow quirked. "May I come in?"

It occurred to me that I could (should?) tell him to go to hell, but instead of that, I stood to one side, and gave a motion of invitation, and a sigh. "Come in, Eric." I went into the kitchen. "True Blood?"

"Unless you're offering."

I shot him a glare; he was smirking. I heated up the bottle, and handed it to him. "So, to what do I owe the dubious pleasure of your company?" I sassed.

He set down the bottle very carefully on the counter, and took a step towards me. Well, more like _prowled_ towards me. I gulped, and backed up against the table. Hands either side of me, he bent his head very close to mine; my pulse went rocketing, for all the wrong reasons. "Where's the database, Sookie?" His lips were on my neck. I whimpered.

If it hadn't been for our… encounter in Russell's mansion, I might have done a bit better at pushing him off and telling him to get lost. Actually, if it hadn't been for that encounter, I'd have told him that earlier, rather than inviting him back in. Was I really going to play this game with Eric?

You bet I was. "I don't know," I breathed.

He leaned back, just a hint of a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, and a look of triumph in his eyes. Then he was back to business. "You're lying to me, lover." The way he said 'lover' made my toes curl – in a good way. "You should just tell me the truth."

We both knew I probably wouldn't have told him that easily, anyway, but if I'd just told him to eff off, he'd have blustered and threatened and growled, and… really, this was so much pleasanter. Crap; I really was in trouble, given that I was willingly entering into a torture session with a vampire who was a master at it. Though, to be fair, any hot-blooded straight woman would probably be signing up for that, if they knew just what Eric's favoured form of torture included. I gave a gasp and a shiver as I remembered him 'torturing' me into confessing my desire for him, my fantasy… oh, Lord, I was going to hell in a hand-basket.

I swallowed. "It's the truth," I insisted. It wasn't. I knew damned well it was still in my hidey-hole upstairs. Whether Eric knew that or not, I don't know; he certainly thought I knew where it was, though.

His face was thoughtful as he stroked one hand down the side of my face, my neck… my breast. I shivered as his hand lingered there. "No," he said simply. "It's not." He pulled off the tie from my bath robe, and pushed the material to one side, cupping the weight of my breast gently. Then, watching my eyes the entire time, deftly easing it out of the bra cup. "You will tell me the truth."

"I don't know where it is."

"Yes you do. Don't you?" he murmured, and his head darted forward. I yelped in surprised pleasure as his teeth nipped at my nipple. His tongue laved it in what might have been meant to be a soothing manner, but it just ignited every nerve ending I possessed. "Tell me, lover, and then I'll be on my way."

I looked at him; his eyes managed to be teasing and serious at the same time, and I exhaled a breath slowly, realising what he was doing. Eric, for all he was a ruthless, manipulative vampire, was giving me an out.

I shook my head. "I'm not telling you anything."

His blue eyes twinkled brightly with mischief. "You will." He bent his head and blew on the now-sensitised bud. I moaned as his tongue delicately traced a vein up and down, then stopped. "Do you know where the database is?"

I gulped. "Yes." He looked a little disappointed. "But I'm not saying anything else!"

He gave me a lazy grin. "Really?" He suckled lightly for a moment. "I think you'll tell me everything in time."

"Eric…"

"Mm? Tell me, and I'll go," he said, his eyes serious again. "This can all stop."

_No no no, don't you dare! _"I'm not telling you anything," I wavered, but I wondered how long I could hold out against him.

"You don't seem so sure." He lifted me onto the kitchen counter – higher than the table – and stepped forwards to stand between my legs. I could hardly ignore the fact that his head was now more or less level with my chest. "Tell me." He dipped his head and suckled again; this time, I wound my fingers in his hair.

"Oh…"

His head popped up. "You had something you wanted to say?"

I sighed. "Eric, there's a flaw in your plan."

"Oh? What's that?"

I gave him a lopsided grin. "I'm enjoying what you're doing too much to give you any information. If I had any. Which I don't."

His eyes lit up. "If I offered a reward…?"

I giggled. "No, just up your game."

"This could be your reward," he growled, and suddenly I was on my back on the kitchen table, and he was bending over me, biting and licking and sucking at my one exposed breast, freeing the other from its confines. I arched my hips up in response. Then he stopped. "Where is it?"

"Wha-huh?"

"The database." His voice was hard and ruthless, and that should not be sending little shivers of pleasure all the way down me. Shouldn't. Was. "Tell me." His voice was lyrical, and his lips gently plucked at the nipple.

I groaned. "Please…"

Teeth (teeth, not fangs) bit lightly. "Where?"

"I won't…"

His tongue flicked out, and I yelped helplessly. "Where is it." His eyes softened. "Tell me, and I won't leave you wanting."

"Hidey-hole upstairs."

He tsked. "You're going to have to up your game too, my darling," he teased. "You gave in far too easily."

Yes, and I was pissed off with myself for that. "I could be lying," I suggested hopefully.

He shook his head. "I know you're not. Bill told me where it was," he said with a grin.

"He _what_?"

"Under coercion. Not the same kind," he said with a rakish smile. "He's not my type."

"Eric!"

He chuckled. "Oh, I didn't hurt him," he said blithely. "I threatened to do all sorts of things to you, of course. He couldn't be sure I wouldn't carry out my threats, so really," he shrugged, "he couldn't risk not telling me."

"So… why… this…?" I croaked.

Slowly, very slowly, he lowered himself back over me. "You know why, Sookie." His lips found the lobe of my ear and tugged gently at it. "You wanted it."

God help me, I whimpered. And swore when there was a frantic hammering on the door. "Of all the _fucking times_," I growled, rearranging my clothing as Eric stood up with a smirk. I shot him an apologetic look. "I'd best go see who that is," I sighed, wrapping my robe round me more tightly as I went to the front door, and swung it open. "Bill," I said flatly.

"You're alright?" he asked, worry etched into his face. "Eric hasn't –"

"Hasn't what?" he drawled, from behind me.

He looked panicked, and I wondered what Eric had threatened to do. "Let me in, Sookie, it'll be okay. I won't let him hurt you."

I saw red – blazing blood-red. "How? By raping and nearly draining me?" I snarled.

I heard a hiss from behind me, and a click as Eric's fangs made their appearance – for the first time that evening, I realised vaguely. "What the _fuck_? Compton, explain." His voice was quiet and controlled, but it was filled with menace.

Oh, no, I was not going to have a repeat performance of their stand-off. "_I'll_ explain," I said firmly. "Bill was just leaving. Weren't you, Bill?" I said pointedly. He gave a miserable nod, and backed off. I slammed the door, and leant against it for a while, with my eyes closed. I was still all too aware of the vampire beside me, radiating worry, fury, and – guilt?

"Sookie?" his voice was gentle.

"In the trunk of the car, after he'd fed. He didn't realise it was me, and I can't fend off even a weakened vampire." I trembled slightly, and opened my eyes to look at him.

He was clearly troubled. "If I'd known… Sookie, if I'd had any idea, I wouldn't have…" he hesitated, "… I wouldn't have been playing this game with you," he said softly. I took in a few deeps breaths, then a few more. I didn't realise I was crying until my head was buried in his chest. "I'm sorry," he murmured, wrapping his arms around me. "Sookie, I'm sorry, you should have said, you should have told me…"

I gasped for breath a few more times, and shook my head. "It's okay."

"It's _not_ okay," he said. He stroked my hair gently. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

I wiped my face with the heel of my hand. "I don't know," I said. "I didn't think to."

He made an exasperated sound. I sighed.

"I didn't believe for a minute you'd actually hurt me," I said finally.

He tilted my head back, one hand under my jaw. "You didn't believe Bill would, either," he pointed out. I shuddered. "Sookie," he said softly, "you really should have told me that before getting involved in any kind of sex game with me."

I nodded miserably.

"Please don't cry again," he said hastily, and I couldn't help but smile a little. "Better," he said with relief. He kissed my forehead. "Do you want me to go?"

I shook my head. "No. Stay."

He looked down at me with a slight smile. "Want to be snuggled?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "That would be nice."

Trouble seemed very far away when I was lying in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm sorry this is so short, but for all of the games they played in the previous two chapters, given what happened with Bill, I wanted there to be an interlude that showed a development in their relationship to something more tender. As one of the reviewers pointed out, after Eric's treatment by Appius, he understands what Sookie's been through, and I wanted to explore that before we move on to anything more torturous.**

**Okay, I admit it - the characters have got out of hand, and completely away from the plot. But I think they need this little interlude, nonetheless!**

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I was taken aback by Eric's kindness, his gentleness; in the past he'd seemed alternately ruthless and flirtatious. He didn't treat me like a china doll, but he certainly reeled back in on the flirting and innuendoes, and just held me, arms wrapped around me, my face buried in the crook of his neck. We didn't speak, but I took comfort from his presence.

After a little while, he ran gentle fingers up and down my spine, which felt both soothing and reassuring. I snuggled closer, wrapping my arms around him, my head resting on his bare chest. I'd expected to feel terrified at the intimacy of it - me in just my nightgown, and Eric in nothing at all - but his own ease at being naked made it somehow easier to deal with.

Eventually, I pulled my head back far enough to look at him. His face was quiet, his eyes full of compassion. "It would have hurt you to have lost him," he said quietly, "and I would never wish for that. But I can't help thinking it would have been better if you had never found him again."

"I wouldn't have known that, though," I replied, just as quietly. He acknowledged that with the briefest grimace. I stayed silent for a few moments, enjoying the comfort and safety of being in his arms. "Would you do something for me?" I asked.

"Probably," he said, with the faintest hint of a smile.

I tried to calm the heartbeat that was hammering away at the inside of my chest, and met his eyes. "Kiss me?"

Time seemed to slow as he brought his hand up to cup my face. He didn't ask me if I was sure, but watched to gauge my reaction as he brushed my lower lip with his thumb. Satisfied that it really was what I wanted, he leaned forward to close the distance between us.

He'd kissed me before, and it had always made my toes curl, my pulse race, and my libido spiral pretty much out of control; but this was something different, something utterly sweet and slow and tender, far more to do with solace than seduction. I relaxed into it, letting my body meld to his. I made a soft sound of approval as he eased me closer, my lips parting under his to allow him entrance. He pulled back, briefly, running his thumb over my cheek, and very gently pushed me to lie back flat on the mattress. He rolled with me, but pushed himself up on his forearms, either side of me, so that he wasn't crushing or crowding me. Brushing the side of my face with the backs of his fingers, he bent his head once more; my arms went round his neck, my hands into his hair. He kissed me again, on and on and on, until I relaxed completely under him, into him, letting go of everything else in the world.

When he pulled back again, all I could do was to look up at him. He still didn't say anything, just waited for me to speak. I didn't think I could remember how to. I swallowed, and tried to find the right words to say. "Thank you," I whispered. It wasn't adequate. It could never be adequate. Tears pooled in my eyes, and he made a sound of discontent. I reached up, and brushed his lips with my own. "Couldn't have been more perfect," I added, smiling through my tears.

His lips brushed mine again, the gentlest caress. "I'm glad to see your smile, but not your tears."

"Good tears," I told him. "Happy tears."

"Happy tears?" he queried.

"'That-was-so-beautiful-and-incredible' tears," I explained. I couldn't stop myself; I reached up and kissed him again, this time with more hunger.

"Sookie…"

"Please," I sighed against his mouth. I couldn't help but move restlessly against him. "Eric, please." Some part of me knew I needed this, needed him; needed the tenderness he seemed to understand I wanted and craved.

"Lover," he murmured, easing a thigh between my legs to ease the ache. "Slowly."

I nodded, gulping in little breaths of air; he held still until I'd calmed, his face close to mine, our foreheads almost touching. Waiting for him to move, to enter me, was the sweetest torture possible. I closed my eyes as his body moved gently against mine, but he shook his head. "Open your eyes, lover."

It was almost frightening in its intensity, and yet I was glad of it; looking into his eyes as he moved above me, on me, in me, there was no way I could be taken back to a place that terrified me. His hair was loose, hanging down either side of his face, and it created a curtain of shimmering gold, a veil between us and the rest of the world, a safe haven where we were cloaked and hidden. My breaths came in gasps, my hands questing over his chest, his shoulders, reaching up to cup his face; my legs tangled with his, as my hips moved in time with his rhythm. I cried aloud, my body surrendering completely to pleasure, as I felt the barest prick of his fangs in my neck, and I clung to him, sobbing, as he found his own release.

He still didn't speak, but held me close, and kissed away my tears. I kissed him again, as though my life depended on it, over and over, never wanting to stop.

My breathing evened out as the aftershocks subsided, and I lay bonelessly across his chest, his hands moving in soothing, gentle patterns over my back as before. I don't know how long we lay there, trading gentle touches and caresses, but I never wanted it to end.

"I've never cried during sex before," I said a lot later, my fingertips tracing the contours of his chest.

His fingers rifled soothingly through my hair. "You still haven't." I wriggled my head back far enough to look at him enquiringly. He kissed my forehead, then the tip of my nose, and finally my lips. "That wasn't sex, my darling, that was making love. There's a world of difference." And with that, he wrapped the covers round us, and turned out the lamp.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: They're still getting themselves sorted out post-Bill here, so it's still a little on the fluffy side - I'm sure they'll get down to some more games soon, though! Thank you all for your continuing support and interest :-)**

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It was late afternoon and getting dark by the time I hauled myself home after the lunchtime shift, taking the time to admire my new gravel drive. I couldn't help but consider the differences between my two vampire lovers; how Bill had given me what he thought I wanted – and I ground my teeth at the memory of that argument over being a kept woman – but Eric had given me what he knew I needed.

Not just the gravel drive, either, I reflected as I stripped off my work uniform and slung it into the laundry hamper on my way to the shower. No; last night… well. Last night had been unexpected. I'd thought Eric was many things, in the brief time I'd known him, but tender and gentle and caring hadn't topped the list. Last night… last night, I'd needed comfort, and everything he'd done had been so… so _loving_, that it had helped me move beyond that hideous, frightening ordeal of being locked in the trunk of the car with Bill. That had been harsh and dark and painful; last night was soft and golden and almost painfully beautiful.

I was surprised to find my face was wet with tears as I remembered it, and hastily removed the light make-up I'd worn for work before my mascara could run. But the lump in my throat refused to budge, and I found myself crying, even as I stepped into the shower. I fumbled for my shampoo, my eyes squeezed closed, as I sniffled quietly.

"Here, let me."

I shrieked, and almost immediately calmed. "Eric! How did you get in?"

His hands rested on my shoulders, thumbs massaging away the knots and kinks that came from being on my feet and serving drinks all day. "I never went anywhere," he replied.

"Your car wasn't out front."

He chuckled. "I didn't bring the car." He reached for my shampoo, and worked it through my hair, fingers massaging my scalp as he did so.

"How were you intending to take Bill's stuff away, then?" I asked, trying very hard to resist the temptation to lean back against him.

"I wasn't."

"But…"

"Sookie, Sookie," he laughed, "do you really think I care about Bill's database? This was never about getting my hands on his precious work." He rinsed the shampoo out of my hair, and reached for my shower-gel.

"No?"

"No," he replied, dropping a kiss on my neck. "It was about getting my hands on his precious girlfriend."

"_Ex_-girlfriend," I corrected him, and he gave a little purr of pleasure.

"Just so." His arms were either side of me as he stood behind me, and I watched as he squeezed out the shower-gel, and lathered it in his hands: big, strong hands; long, skilled fingers. I shivered in anticipation, and let my head fall back against his shoulder as he ran those hands over me, washing me, caressing me.

I gave a sigh of pleasure. "You've been in the hidey-hole all day, then?" I reached an arm back round his neck, twisting my head round to look up at him. I sucked in a breath as his hands coasted over my breasts and down to my hips, crossing his arms loosely across them to pull me against him. I gave a little shiver at the feel of him pressed against me, hard and aroused.

He gave me a leisurely kiss. "Yes. I turfed the computer stuff out to give me more room." He grinned. "It really was most obliging of Bill to tell me where it was."

I laughed. "I doubt he did it to oblige you," I replied. "What on earth did you say to him to make him talk?"

"Honestly?" He chuckled. "I did tell him I'd torture you for information. His mind was on a different kind of torture from the one I'd planned, that's all."

I giggled helplessly. Eric had actually told Bill the exact truth. He _had_ tortured me for information – with my full consent and willing participation. I shook my head. "Evil."

"Vampire," he smiled, dropping soft kisses on my neck. "Goes with the territory."

I swallowed. "There was nothing evil about last night," I murmured.

"No," he said softly. "No, there wasn't."

I wanted to tell him how perfect it had been, how much it meant to me, what it meant to me that he'd stayed and was still here, still wanting me, but I couldn't find the right words. Instead, hands shaking slightly, I grabbed the shower-gel, and set about washing him.

I washed him slowly – intimately; his eyes were wide, his pupils almost fully dilated, his fangs out. He didn't try to stop me or hurry me, however much his self-control was being tested, but let me do as I wanted. He groaned as I stroked him, reaching out to steady himself against the shower wall.

"Kneel down," I whispered. He gave me a curious look, but did as I asked – a little awkwardly, as there wasn't much room – but gave a hum of pleasure as I shampooed his hair, as he'd done mine. I giggled as I felt his lips on the soft skin of my stomach, his light stubble tickling the sensitive skin there slightly, then gave a gasp as he simultaneously lifted one knee between my legs and drew me down to straddle it, his mouth finding one of my breasts.

He was certainly creative, I'll give him that.

His wet hair tangled in my fingers, I looked down at him, at the long, dark-gold lashes that hid his eyes from view, the tall, muscular body wrapped around mine. "Don't take this the wrong way?" I whispered.

"Mm?" he murmured, mouth still otherwise occupied.

"You're an incredibly beautiful man," I said, my breathing rapid and shallow.

He looked up at me, and smiled. "You're an incredibly beautiful woman," he replied. "We do well together."

I thought back to the previous night, to how he'd cared for me – given everything, and asked for nothing in return. "What do you want from me?" I asked softly, almost afraid to hear the reply.

His smile turned into the infinitely sexier version of the sweet smile he'd just given me. "So many ways to answer that, lover." Then his expression turned serious, and he pulled me closer. "I want you to be mine – my woman." I stared at him for a moment, and his mouth quirked into a smile again. "Not what you were expecting to hear?"

"The first part didn't surprise me," I grumbled, and he laughed. And suddenly, looking at him like this, I realised what my fear had been – not a fear of him, because somewhere, deep down, I'd never actually thought he would hurt me; but a fear of falling for him, and not having that reciprocated. Quite an epiphany, I realised.

"But the second is more pertinent," he said, and I could see the tension in his body. I felt a stutter of shock go through me – he thought I would reject him.

I blinked back a few tears. I'd never expected to see anything in Eric that was in any way vulnerable, and seeing this shook me. "I hate that 'she is mine' possessive vampire crap," I warned him, and his face tightened, closed off, and it hurt me to see it. I softened my voice, and went on, "I'll only be yours if you're mine."

The full-on sexy smirk was back, and he surged to his feet, taking me with him. "An agreeable compromise," he grinned, turning off the water. "One I am happy to accept."

Well, I guess that settled that, then.


End file.
